Geography in the News: Chagas Coming

August 19, 2013

By Neal Lineback and Mandy Lineback Gritzner, Geography in the NewsTM

CHAGAS: THE KISSING BUG’S DISEASE

Recent news releases have highlighted some of the exotic animals infesting the United States. These include fire ants in the Southeastern United States, African “killer” bees in the Southern border states, the snakehead fish in Maryland and 10-foot (3 meter) Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades. Each of these is non-native to the United States, making it an exotic species in this country. There is, however, an exotic South American bug now present in this country that carries a dangerous disease called Chagas.

Chagas (SHA-gus) disease, first described by Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas in 1909, is caused by a microscopic parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), carried by a tiny beetle vector, which transmits the disease to humans. This beetle’s name is vinchuca, but in parts of South and Central America it is known as “the kissing bug.” Vinchucas may bite rodents and dogs which serve as reservoirs of the protozoan T. cruzi. Then humans may be infected when the vinchucas bite them.

Generally, vinchucas are drawn to sources of carbon dioxide released from sleeping humans’ mouths and noses-hence the name “kissing bug.” When vinchucas bite humans around the mouth, they can leave feces infected with T. cruzi which may enter the skin through any open wound. Although the kissing bug is the primary cause of infection within most of the native ranges of T. cruzi, transmission is also possible through other means, including blood transfusions, organ transplants, breastfeeding and by congenital transmission. In Bolivia in 1992, for example, more than 17 percent of a group of blood donors were found to have serological markers for T. cruzi, which meant that they currently had Chagas disease or had been infected with the disease in the past.

Chagas infection may result in little or no early symptoms, with only a small percentage of the infected persons showing mild fever and slight swellings around the infection site. Severe heart and intestinal problems may not show up for 10-40 years, but then can be deadly. This gradual onslaught of the disease may cause those infected to believe their disabilities simply to be the normal aging of their bodies.

There is treatment for infected individuals, but it should be administered early in the disease’s development. This drug can totally eliminate the Chagas parasites in about 60 percent of the cases, but the best success comes in treating children. In the developing countries, the blood tests necessary to diagnose Chagas disease, however, are not often available. An estimated 16 to 18 million people worldwide are infected, virtually all in the Western Hemisphere. There is currently no vaccine available to prevent Chagas disease.

Most preventive efforts include heavy insecticide spraying of houses, particularly in poor rural areas. Recommendations to most travelers to infected areas are to avoid sleeping in buildings or outside in endemic areas without the use of fully enclosable, insecticide-impregnated bed nets.

Currently, Chagas disease is endemic in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Keeping detrimental exotic species, such as the vinchuca, out of the United States is a near impossible task. One vinchuca was even found in a child’s crib in Tennessee in 1998, giving credence to the fact that the vector for Chagas disease is already here. At least five indigenous cases of Chagas disease have been diagnosed in humans, with at least three reported deaths from the disease. There may be many more unsuspecting victims with the disease.

Americans are much more aware of the impacts of exotic species recently, thanks largely to the media and to scientific analysis of worldwide data. Now that the vinchucas are here, scientists hypothesize that climate variability and other conditions may expand the vector’s range within North America.

Although little is specifically known about the sources of the vinchuca in the United States, immigration and imported goods from South and Central America are suspected original sources. As we have learned from a myriad of transplanted exotic animals and plants in the United States, political borders are no barriers to the movements of animals or diseases.

Co-authors are Neal Lineback, Appalachian State University Professor Emeritus of Geography, and Geographer Mandy Lineback Gritzner. University News Director Jane Nicholson serves as technical editor. Geography in the NewsTM is solely owned and operated by Neal Lineback for the purpose of providing geographic education to readers worldwide.

Meet the Author

Neal Lineback has written weekly Geography in the News (GITN) articles for more than 25 years (1,200 published articles) while he was Chair of Geography and Planning at Appalachian State University and since. In 2007, he brought his daughter Mandy Gritzner in as a co-author. She is also a geographer with a graduate degree from Montana State University. GITN has won national recognition and numerous awards from the Association of American Geographers, the National Council for Geographic Education and Travelocity, among others..

Post Navigation

Related Posts

About the Blog

Researchers, conservationists, and others share stories, insights and ideas about Our Changing Planet, Wildlife & Wild Spaces, and The Human Journey. More than 50,000 comments have been added to 10,000 posts. Explore the list alongside to dive deeper into some of the most popular categories of the National Geographic Society’s conversation platform Voices.

Opinions are those of the blogger and/or the blogger’s organization, and not necessarily those of the National Geographic Society. Posters of blogs and comments are required to observe National Geographic’s community rules and other terms of service.

“There are only a handful of cheetahs left in Ethiopia, and probably no more than 300 in the Horn of Africa,” said Sarah Durant, a senior fellow at @OfficialZSL. https://t.co/h5w1qh88ra #IntlCheetahDay

TODAY ONLY: Don't miss this opportunity to have your gift amount matched 2x! Until midnight tonight, all gifts will go twice as far to support our work to protect lions, elephants and other threatened species around the planet. #GivingTuesday https://t.co/rIi39FqirJ